


Hunted

by Depths



Series: Linked Universe Oneshots [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Linktober 2020, Misunderstandings, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, i tried to give everyone a speaking role but forgot warriors sorry buddy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27017443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Depths/pseuds/Depths
Summary: All the monster camps would revive under a blood moon. Wild had gotten that drilled into him more than enough times to never forget it, to make it into common sense–– and yet the others are so ready to sleep in their pilfered camp for the night of the full moon.Why weren't theylisteningto him? Didn't they understand how dangerous that was?(Or: Wild has never seen a white full moon.)
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Wild (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe)
Series: Linked Universe Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982555
Comments: 25
Kudos: 689





	Hunted

_ This is a bad spot,  _ Wild tried again, pointing frantically at his feet.  _ We need to keep moving. _

Legend raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh  _ really," _ He asked. Wild winced at his tone, watching warily when the other’s arms crossed defensively. But he refused to step down. Not on this. Legend glared. "What, can't trust me on my own world? I  _ said _ this place is fine, so it's  _ fine. _ We're camping here tonight." He only scowled when Wild continued to shake his head, signing  _ No _ over and over. "What is the  _ problem, _ Wild? You've been weird all day, and it's really starting to––"

He grunted, cut off when Time yanked him by the back of his shirt down to the ground between where Hyrule and Sky had bunked down in front of the campfire. Hyrule smiled at him, lifting the corner of their shared blanket, and Legend's mouth clicked shut.

"Wild," Time said. Wild huffed noisily and began to pace. Meeting Time's eyes always made him feel a little nervous. Thankfully the other said nothing, his eyes continuing to burn on Wild's skin even as he treaded tight circles in place. "Wild, what's wrong? Legend is right, you've been tense all day." 

Wild huffed again, louder. His shoulders were so high he could feel them brushing his ears and he forcibly tried to relax them, breathing slowly. When he managed a glance at Time, the other was frowning.

"What's  _ wrong?" _ He asked again, eyes searching his face.

What was  _ wrong? _ How could he not know? How could  _ none _ of them now? The sky was darkening and it made his heart pound. He could practically taste the magic in the air. He had no idea how to explain something so innate. They should have just  _ known _ the moment the sun went down. 

Wild made a long whining growl and threw his hands up, exasperated.

"That's not helping us to understand anything, Cub. I know you're worked up, but we can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on."

"M-moon," Wild snapped out, croaky and rough. Time blinked up at him and he glared, suddenly feeling like hitting something. The confusion on his face, on  _ all _ of their faces, didn't clear any even when he gestured violently towards the sky. Stars were coming out. The magic was rising, he was  _ sure _ of it. He could taste the blood on the back of his tongue, the shifting dirt under his boots––  _ "Moon! _ B-Bl––" The word choked out of him painfully and Wild hissed, rubbing his scarred throat.

"What's wrong with the moon?" Wind asked. Wild jerked a little when the smaller Link pressed up against his side. Wind thankfully didn't acknowledge his startle, just looked up at him curiously.

Despite everything, seeing Wind's wide eyes looking up at him made him relax the tiniest bit. Wild took several deep breathes, shivering in the night air. He was with several experienced and heavily armed heroes. None of them were incapable, including himself. None of them injured, minus Sky's sprained wrist and the shallow slash on Twilight's cheek. The monsters they had taken their current clearing from had been able to do little to harm them.

...He still felt it was needlessly stupid, to settle in a camp whose monsters would all revive on top of them at midnight.

_ Moon, _ he signed. Wind ducked under his elbows as he signed  _ blood, _ eyes following his hands carefully. Wild did it twice for the sailor when he moved in front of him.  _ Blood moon tonight. _

Sky hummed, tilting his head curiously. "Do you call all full moons blood moons, in your time?" He asked. "That's quite a name for a lunar cycle."

Wild blinked at him quickly, face pinching in frustration. What  _ else _ would they call it? It was what it was. Midnight was not for some hours, still, but he swore he could catch the heady scent of blood in the air. It clogged in his throat, filling his head with metal and cotton. His fingers twitched for the comfort of a blade.

Instead, he felt the cold press of a wet nose. Wild jumped and Twilight huffed up at him, muzzle gently clamping down on the edge of his tunic and tugging.

"He's right." Wild whipped his head up, but Time's expression was unreadable. "Regardless what you think might happen, Legend has promised that we'll be fine here. We should all get what sleep we can before we keep moving tomorrow." Twilight tugged again, making an impatient noise. Time nodded and stood, patting Wild's shoulder as he passed. Wild twitched under the weight of it. "Go to bed, Wild. Four has first watch, he'll keep an eye out for your blood moon."

The words passing Time's lips so casually made Wild bristle, a little. He couldn't help it. No one back home could afford to just dismiss a blood moon. Those who didn’t pay attention to the night sky were those bound to wake up surrounded by monsters they had sworn to have been killed.

It was foolish. It was  _ stupid. _

Twilight circled him, furry head butting against Wild's stomach when he didn't move.  _ "Hhgh," _ Wild grunted. He glared, but Twilight only stared him down.  _ Not sleeping,  _ he signed. Twilight continued to stare.  _ No. _ Still staring. 

"Go to bed, Wild," Four called out. Wild looked up, catching the other Link in the faint firelight across the camp. "I'll wake you if I spot something, okay? I'll be nice and loud, even Sky will get up."

It was a nice gesture. But still. Wild glared back down at the wolf. Twilight growled at him. Wild scowled back. 

Neither of them were backing down. Wild knew Twilight would try–– even though he'd fail–– to outlast his stamina. An exhausted companion was a dead one on a blood moon. Huffing loudly, Wild sat stiffly, his back to the logs surrounding their fire. Twilight bristled when he pulled a broadsword from his slate. Wild refused to even twitch. He held Twilight's gaze steadily as he settled the blade in his lap, one hand tight on the hilt. 

_ No sleep, _ he signed with finality.

It seemed to be enough. Twilight made a low, gruff noise in his throat, but when he padded closer and curled up, leaning warm and heavy against Wild's side, he could almost relax.

Almost. Wild's spine remained ramrod straight as he fixed his gaze on the darkening sky.

"If you're sure," Four murmured. "We can keep each other company, then." 

Wild didn't respond. His eyes remained skyward, fingers twitching for the slate. Twilight had unintentionally (or maybe intentionally? The other Link always seemed to plan rather ahead than Wild–– him and Time both. As if they were predicting his next moves. It usually didn't make him nervous, but now––) buried it under himself, tucking it somewhere under his belly. Without a proper way to check the time, all he would have was the height of the moon itself. 

The buildup of malice would be  _ unmistakable. _ Wild could at least count on that, even in his deepest distraction. But a warning of five minutes was barely a warning at all, surrounded by the vulnerable sleeping bodies of his friends. 

_ Sky is asleep right where a moblin had laid before. Hyrule sits where a chuchu was. Legend laid his bedroll down right where Time had killed that last silver bokoblin. Will they revive right under them? On top of them? _

They were all in danger. Sitting ducks in the moonlight. The sheer suspense of  _ waiting  _ for the moon to just rise was going to kill him before any monster ever could. Wild tightened his grip on his blade until his joints creaked. 

He waited until the last of the light was gone. Until all the stars in Legend's sky blinked down at him. Until Four stood with a stretch, just in the corner of his awareness, and the murmur of his voice prodded Time awake for his watch. 

Wild didn't actually look up until a hand touched his shoulder, making him jerk in place. His free hand, laid rigid and tense on the blade of his broadsword, reflexively tightened until the blade nearly sliced through his palm. 

"Sorry," Time hissed. "I didn't mean to startle you. You alright?" He nodded tensely when Wild lifted his hand, fingers flexing blood-free. "Okay. Good." Bright eyes, even in the dark of the night. "Now, would you like to tell me why you're  _ really  _ still awake?" 

He glared. He couldn't help it. The disbelief alone made him want to yank at his hair and scream.  _ Blood moon,  _ he signed, slow and purposeful. There was no more familiarity in Time's eyes than the first time he said it.  _ Blood moon! Tonight! Why are you all so calm? _

Time raised his hand again, reaching for him, and Wild twitched. Still, he did nothing to pull away as the other slowly settled it on his shoulder. "Cub," He said quietly, "Have you considered that your  _ blood moon  _ might be exclusive to your Hyrule?" Wild frowned. "The others have never heard of one. I certainly haven't, not in my own time or in Legend's–– where we are now. If it's as important as you claim it is, I'm sure someone here would have mentioned it tonight, wouldn't you think?" 

Wild shook his head, brow creasing. The thought of a bloodless full moon–– what was it even supposed to  _ look  _ like? Sure, his Zelda had told him it used to be different–– but that was before the Calamity. That was Before. 

It was too foreign to even consider.

_ We should have moved camp,  _ he signed. Time only shook his head.  _ We're in danger here.  _ Another shake. It made Wild suddenly and uncontrollably angry.  _ Dead, _ he signed once, turning his hands in an almost violent motion.  _ All of us. _

Time squeezed his shoulder. "You doubt us, Cub. Especially Legend. Didn't he say it'd be safe here?" 

Wild made a strangled noise in his throat, affronted and angry all at once. How could they keep  _ saying _ that? Couldn't they feel the magic in the air? Wild swore it was rising right under them. He swore the dirt shifted, swore he could  _ taste  _ the malice, cloying and thick in his throat. He wanted to throw up. Any moment now, and he would watch the world glow red under it. All that bloodshed, revitalized and screaming all over again. Just one more month of madness, just one more  _ blood moon rising again, please be careful Link–– _

"Look," Time said, and the suddenness of his voice in the suffocating silence made Wild gasp. "Does that look bloody to you?"

He turned and stepped away, moving to instead settle on Wild's other side, and Wild––

––blinked up into silver moonlight.

Everything went still. The breeze, the crickets, the wind in the grass–– Wild stared up at the moon. It sat high in the sky, settled into the peak of midnight, and just as pure as Zelda's prayer robes. As clean a white as lightning, as sunlight off a blade.

Wild stared, and stared, and when the sight of it blurred and wavered he turned to Time and choked out the weakest  _ "What?" _ he had ever managed.

Warm fur rubbed against his bare arm. Wild barely was able to do more than glance down at Twilight as the other sat up, a wet nose pressing against his cheek before a warm tongue lapped at his face. Time settled a little heavier against him. Even the cold nudge of his armor managed to ground him a little, shocking the night out of his bones. Twilight continued to press closer to him, pushing until the wolf was half blanketing him. Wild wasn't sure what else to do but continue to let him lick at his face. 

"Don't cry, Cub. It's beautiful, isn't it?" Time murmured. His arm wrapped around Wild's small shoulders and tugged gently, pulling both hero and wolf against his side. "Do you like it?"

It was so big. So high in the sky. Wild had no idea the night could be so bright. The magic he had felt–– not even a trace of it shifted under his hands, not even when he dug his fingers into the dirt. The air remained the kind of coldly clean only fresh night air could give. The only magic was the kind innate to Legend's Hyrule–– swirling free in the breeze like a living being. 

Nothing woke up under them. The night was so quiet he felt like his ears were ringing without the screaming and squealing of monsters. 

It was... pure. Free of malice.

"I..."  _ I like it, _ Wild tried, the words caught in his throat.  _ It's beautiful. The air feels so clean. _

Time smiled down at him. Twilight settled his head on his front paws, heavy on their thighs. Neither of them made a move to stop him when Wild's bloodless fingers pried free of his sword and slowly curled into the dense fur over the back of Twilight’s neck.

_ Thank you, _ he signed with his free hand. It shook in the pale moonlight.  _ Thank you. _

"Anytime, Cub. Now, will you be able to sleep?"

Yes. Maybe. Wild turned his face back up to the moon. Just a little longer.

Careful fingers carded through his long hair. "Okay. I'll stay with you until my watch is over, then."

If Time woke anyone else for the next watch, Wild wasn't awake to see it.

**Author's Note:**

> damn i realized i forgot to at least mention warriors only when i started tagging everybody ahhhhhhh
> 
> Also please just ignore the fact that blood moons turn normal after midnight sdnjhbfd lets just pretend thats not a thing
> 
> As always, find me at [Leviathiane](https://leviathiane.tumblr.com) on tumblr!


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